High Carbon Wakizashi Samurai Sword

The Wakizashi is a sword that would often be worn by Samurai in conjunction with a Katana. The length of a Wakizashi would vary between 12 inches and 24 inches. Wearing a Wakizashi with a Katana would symbolize that the wearer was part of the Samurai warrior class. A Wakizashi is not just a small Katana, the methods and materials used to forge the sword could differ.

What is High Carbon?

All of our high carbon steel swords are either 1095, 1060 or 1045 carbon steel, which means they are classified as high carbon. The digits in the name refer to the carbon content of the sword, 1095 equates to 0.95% carbon content, 1060 equals 0.60% carbon content, while 1045 would be 0.45% carbon content. The more carbon a sword contains the harder the resulting steel will be, however, it’ll also mean it’s harder to sharpen and has a greater chance of chipping if used incorrectly.